Going Viral
by Voysey
Summary: After a disastrous end to the Project Overlord mission, Commander Shepard had the great difficulty of leaving behind one of his crew. Now, as the war with the Reapers comes to a head, something stirs in the Cerberus base where Major Enzo was left for dead. Is it just a Cerberus experiment gone wrong, or has the Illusive Man got one final ace in the hole for the Normandy's crew?
1. Prologue

**A/N: So, it's been an awful long time since I've submitted anything new on here, never mind update my other main fiction, however, I try as and when with the little free time I have. Mass Effect has currently taken over like, everything, so, I hope you enjoy this fiction, and if you happen to be a Legacy of Kain fan too, please feel free to check out my other work. Enjoy! Oh, and also, I don't own Mass Effect in anyway, etc, etc.**

* * *

**Going Viral**

**Prologue**

"Commander, go, just go! Take the kid, and run. I'll deal with this."

"Major, I am not leaving you behind! We can get you and David out of here, stop being so stubborn damn it!"

I rip the pin out of a grenade with my teeth, launching it between the on coming Geth forces. "If you don't get the shuttle back to the Normandy now, you will not only be overrun by the Geth, but Cerberus troops as well." I crouch back behind cover, and glare at the Commander. "You should have known we couldn't trust Dr. Archer from the start, and you know damned well the Illusive Man will not be happy that his research subject has been 'rescued' from one of his facilities."

Shepard growls, exasperated. "I refuse to leave you here Enzo! They could hook you up to that same damned contraption that David was in, who knows what they'd do to you in his place. It goes against everything I stand for, and I order you to get your ass back to the shuttle, now!"

We glare at each other for a few seconds, tempers rising, adrenaline pumping. I know the risks, I know what could happen, but to risk the Illusive Man turning on us before we hit the Omega 4 Relay, no, I can't let that happen. For the crews sake, for the entire galaxies sake. I take my eyes off Shepard, the desperation in his eyes making this choice so much harder. I notice, out of the corner of my eye, an emergency lockdown button just off to the left. I breathe in, and exhale slowly. This is it. "I'm sorry Commander, but I cannot comply." I aim my pistol at the lockdown button, and shoot.

Alarms blaring, almost deafening, causing David to cry out in pain as the noise becomes unbearable for him. "Please, the noise, make it stop…" He curls up on the ground, in a ball, hands over his ears.

"God damn it!" Shepard curses at me, realising that the emergency doors were now beginning to close down in the facility, potentially locking himself, Tali and Garrus inside. I looks at David, and places a comforting hand on his back. "We'll get you outta here kid." He turns his gaze back to me, eyes narrowing.

I stand up, turn, shoot a couple more Geth in the head, before turning back to the Commander. "I'm sorry Shepard, this is the only way." I look behind Shepard, noticing Tali and Garrus running up the corridor towards us. I smile, and lock gazes with Shepard. "Take David and get the hell outta here Commander." I salute him briefly, before turning back to take down more Geth. "And good luck out there, with the Collectors. I know you'll bring those bastards down."

I briefly turn and look back and see Tali, her and Garrus stopping halfway down the corridor, trying to override the lockdown. I rip my tags from my neck, and throw them at Shepard. "Give these to Tali. Tell her… Tell her I love her, and I will always be there, watching over her."

I smile, and in that split second of losing focus, I take a slug in the shoulder, forcing me down to one knee, gasping. Ha, should teach me to never let my guard down in future. I moan in agony, grasping my shoulder. "Shepard, go!"

He grabs David, fireman lifts him over his back, and looks at me, his fierce eyes piercing my own. "I will come back for you Major, I promise. We will get you out of here." I nod, then wince at the pain in my shoulder. Damn, that's gunna leave one nasty ass scar.

I hear the sound of Shepard's footsteps running away from me, getting fainter with every second. If only I remembered to ask him to leave me some medi-gel before he left. Damn, guess going to have to man it out now.

As release my hand from the bullet wound, most of the major bleeding having stopped. I look at my blood stained hands just as I hear the doors shut, the lockdown completed. I smile, and push myself back to my feet, throwing my pistol to my right. "I'll see you soon, Shepard." I throw myself over the metal barrier I was crouched behind, staring at what seems to be millions of Geth surrounding me. I pull out my shotgun, loading a thermal clip. "Now, show me what you've got you overgrown flashlights!" I launch myself at the synthetics in a blaze of bullets, part of me knowing that the Normandy and its crew will never come back for me, and that this is the place where I, Major Enzo Darius Johnson, will draw my last breath.


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

"… _Tali'Zorah. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. Heh. We've worked along side each other for the past few months now, going on missions with Shepard and such. But, I don't know, it sounds stupid but, there's something different about that one. I mind myself, drawn to her, wanting to be around her all the time, yet I haven't spoken to her on a 'friend' level, just as a colleague. I mean, hell, I don't even know anything about goddamned ships, what would we even have to talk about? Sigh. I'll just have to see how it plays out I guess, but, I'm attracted to her. I doubt the feeling is mutual, I've seen the way she always focuses's her attention on Shepard, but we'll see. I'm hopeful."_

A knock on the door causes Tali to jump, fumbling her hands over her Omni-tool to stop the recording. "Who is it?" She asks, irritated.

The door opens slowly, Garrus's head popping round the corner. "Coming to check on my Quarian friend, if that's alright with you Ms. vas Normandy?." He waits for no reply, and walks in, sitting himself next to Tali, perching himself on the edge of her bed. She shifts uncomfortably, not really wanting to talk, but not wanting to be alone either. They sit in silence for a few minutes, her bringing her knees up under her chin, wrapping her arms around them, while Garrus taps his fingers on his knee, frowning, attempting to think of comforting words that won't come out as an awkward, jumbled mess. In the end, he sighs, and looks at her, pity in his eyes. "I know how much the Major meant to you, Tali…"

Her figure suddenly becomes rigid, finding that she is still not ready to talk about… him. She turns her head away fro Garrus, thankful that he can't her pained expression under her helmet. She takes a jagged breath, before speaking, focusing her gaze on the corner of her room. "Garrus, I do not wish to come across as being… malicious, but, if you're going to talk about… just, go. Please." She swallows hard, the lump in her throat becoming harder to suppress. He looks at her, startled at the hostility in her voice, but respects her privacy. He nods, and places a sympathetic hand on her shoulder for a few seconds, before rising, leaving her to become engrossed in more of her recordings of her long-lost boyfriend.

* * *

"Arriving at the Citadel soon Shepard, ETA 8 minutes."

"Yeah, that's Joker." Shepard sighs, placing his head in his hands. He looks at the datapad in front of him, and squeezes his eyes shut. _Goddamn it Enzo, why? It's like I've lost a brother, you fucking heroic moron._

As he sits there, lost in thought, not knowing what to do next, the door behind him opens suddenly, causing Shepard to jump. _I wish people would begin to learn what knocking is. _"Shepard, is this a bad time?" He places his hands on the desk, and turns in his seat, looking at his Turian friend.

"No, no, I'm just… contemplating." He rises, and walks over to Garrus, who is leant against the metal bar in front of Shepard's humongous fish tank. "What's on your mind, Vakarian? Pretty rare for you to leave the Battery, even more so to come up here and talk to me." He leans next to him, smirking.

"Hmph… I… well, uh, I'm concerned about… Tali," He looks away from Shepard, frowning. "I've never seen her so, quiet, so… dissociative." He takes a deep breath, before looking back at Shepard. "I've tried on multiple occasions to speak with her, I've even tried getting her to come out and eat something, but she either just shuns me, or ignores me, acts like I'm not even there."

"Affecting her that bad, huh?"

The Turian nods. "Yeah." He pushes himself away from the tank, turning to face Shepard, folding his arms over his chest. "I wanted to ask a favour, Commander. Ever since we first met Tali, she's trusted you more than anyone. I mean, you were also closer to Enzo more than anyone else on this ship, I think, maybe, she'd open up to you more." He sighs, looking down. "Just… if you get the chance, Shepard, go and talk to her, please?"

Shepard, looking sympathetically at his closest friend, reaches forward and places a hand on Garrus' shoulder, and smiles. "Of course, Garrus. As soon as we've wrapped up business here on the Citadel, I promise I'll speak to her." The Turian nods in thanks, then turns and leaves Shepard's cabin, leaving the Commander to deal with the addition weight on his shoulders.

* * *

"Any improvement on the Geth communications front, Archer?" The Illusive Man, sat in his typical chair, with his typical cigarette in one hand, and his typical glass of Bourbon in the other, addresses the doctor, a neutral look on his face. Dr. Archer, wringing his hands together nervously behind his back, looks at the holographic imagine of his boss in front of him, trying his best to act natural.

"Well, um, complications happened, Sir. We… 'lost' David…" He takes a sharp breath in, perspiration beginning to show on his forehead. The Illusive Man merely takes a drag on his cigarette, the same look on his face, waiting for the Doctor to continue. Gavin clears his throat, his hands now clenching into fists behind his back. "Your new favourite gun, a Commander Shepard, took my brother away from these… controversial experiments."

The Illusive Man raises an eyebrow, before aggressively outing his cigarette. "Hmm, I should've known sending Shepard to help deal with our rouge VI issue was a mistake, his moral conscience always gets the better of him." He takes a swig of Bourbon, his glowing eyes never leaving Gavin's. He begins swirling the last few drops around the bottom of the glass, a frown forming on his face. "I assume you have, resolved the problem Shepard has created for you Archer? Or will I have to actually pull the plug on you and your operations for good this time?"

Gavin straights up suddenly, looking alarmingly at the holographic image. "O-Of course not, Sir. I have actually found another subject who seems to be more… responsive to our procedures than David was. However he was a member of Shepard's squad, I no doubt they will come back for him soon, I'm not sure if we will have time to finish our findings before the Commander decides to 'visit' this facility again."

"Then I will see to it that you are moved to a more secure station, Dr. Archer, and that you have a new team appointed to you once you arrive. A recon team is being deployed to your current location, ETA 12 hours. See to it that you have everything ready to depart with you once they arrive. Good day, Doctor."

The Illusive Man cuts the comm., leaving a very anxious, but relieved Gavin to prepare everything before Cerberus turn up at the station. He turns and walks a few feet behind him, leaning with both his hands at the side of a control panel. "I'm so sorry." He looks up at what could only be described as a huge incubation tank, a male figure suspended inside, tubes and waterproof wire sticking out all over his body, a breathing mask over his face. Gavin looks away, pained, and begins pushing buttons, conserving all the necessary data that will be required for the continuation of Project Overlord.

"Please, forgive me."

* * *

A/N: So, I'm sorry that this chapter is really short, but I've got so many ideas for this story, I thought this would suffice until I've figured out what I'm going to put in this story. I'd appreciate all the people that have favourited/followed this story already, it means a hell of a lot, but I'd also like some reviews to know what your opinions are guys, that would be great. Take care


End file.
